Deputy cleared in fatal shooting of pit bull (VIDEO, DOCUMENT)

Wednesday

Mar 26, 2014 at 12:01 AMMar 26, 2014 at 4:47 PM

A Walton County sheriff's deputy was cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a pit bull this month. The sheriff's office released video of the incident that was caught on the deputy's Taser camera.

LAUREN DELGADO / Daily News

SANTA ROSA BEACH — A Walton County sheriff's deputy was cleared of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a pit bull this month. The sheriff's office released video of the incident that was caught on the deputy's Taser camera.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT: Watch a video of the incident. >>

The deputy was called to a home on East Mack Bayou Road on March 11 after reports that 11-month old pit bull "Ford" menaced a woman and children in their car and chased after a passerby.

The dog's owner, Jonathan Aldrich, could not be reached Wednesday. In an earlier interview, Aldrich said Ford was a sweet, loving dog who often visited neighbors' homes.

The sheriff's office said the deputy defended himself from the charging dog.

"We regret the failure of the dog's owner to keep his animal secured on his property — a failure, which directly led to the dog's aggressive behavior off property and the dog's death," a sheriff's office news release stated.

In the video, the deputy walks near Aldrich's driveway. As a dog starts barking, the deputy returns to the complainant’s driveway and tells the women to stand back.

Ford, who is barking and unleashed, runs toward the armed deputy. The dog disappears from the video frame as he bounds closer.

"Get back," the deputy says before shooting the dog once in the head/neck area.

The dog falls immediately to the ground. He goes limp 30 seconds later.

A Sheriff's Office news release reported that a child was taken to the hospital in August after being injured by Ford.